Gaddafi's son captured

Despite it being almost two months since President Obama's "Mission accomplished" speech on Libya, there are still a couple of big battles being fought against Gaddafi loyalsits.One of those battles in Sirte, the dictator's hometown, has resulted in the capture of Gaddafi's son.

Libyan government fighters have captured Muammar Gaddafi's son Mo'tassim as he tried to escape the battle-torn city of Sirte, National Transitional Council (NTC) officials said.

The capture of the deposed leader's national security adviser, and the first member of the Gaddafi family, is a boost to Libya's new rulers, whose forces are still battling pro-Gaddafi fighters in his home town of Sirte.

"He was arrested today in Sirte," Colonel Abdullah Naker told Reuters on Wednesday. Other NTC sources said Mo'tassim was taken to Benghazi where he was questioned at the Boatneh military camp where he is being held. He was uninjured but exhausted, the officials said.

Hundreds of NTC fighters took to the streets in several Libyan cities and fired shots in the air in celebration.

Gaddafi loyalists have fought tenaciously for weeks in Sirte, one of just two major towns where they still have footholds, two months after rebels seized the capital Tripoli.

"We have control of the whole of the city except neighborhood 'Number Two' where the Gaddafi forces are surrounded," said Khaled Alteir, a field commander in Sirte.

A caveat: The NTC is notorious for jumping the gun with announcements like this. In other words, don't believe it until you see the video.

That said, it is very close to the end for Gaddafi. Wherever he is, he should just slip away into exile and allow his war-torn country to rebuild and heal.

Despite it being almost two months since President Obama's "Mission accomplished" speech on Libya, there are still a couple of big battles being fought against Gaddafi loyalsits.

One of those battles in Sirte, the dictator's hometown, has resulted in the capture of Gaddafi's son.

Libyan government fighters have captured Muammar Gaddafi's son Mo'tassim as he tried to escape the battle-torn city of Sirte, National Transitional Council (NTC) officials said.

The capture of the deposed leader's national security adviser, and the first member of the Gaddafi family, is a boost to Libya's new rulers, whose forces are still battling pro-Gaddafi fighters in his home town of Sirte.

"He was arrested today in Sirte," Colonel Abdullah Naker told Reuters on Wednesday. Other NTC sources said Mo'tassim was taken to Benghazi where he was questioned at the Boatneh military camp where he is being held. He was uninjured but exhausted, the officials said.

Hundreds of NTC fighters took to the streets in several Libyan cities and fired shots in the air in celebration.

Gaddafi loyalists have fought tenaciously for weeks in Sirte, one of just two major towns where they still have footholds, two months after rebels seized the capital Tripoli.

"We have control of the whole of the city except neighborhood 'Number Two' where the Gaddafi forces are surrounded," said Khaled Alteir, a field commander in Sirte.

A caveat: The NTC is notorious for jumping the gun with announcements like this. In other words, don't believe it until you see the video.

That said, it is very close to the end for Gaddafi. Wherever he is, he should just slip away into exile and allow his war-torn country to rebuild and heal.